1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to seal assemblies and in particular to an interlocking seal assembly for utilizing a thrust bearing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical thrust bearings, when installed in certain applications can be exposed to atmospheric contaminants such as dust, dirt, water, etc. which can cause reduced life of the thrust bearing. Also, the three components of the thrust bearing have to be installed in the application separately, which can be very time consuming and costly when it has to be done on a final assembly line. While it is known to provide a unitized thrust bearing and interlocking seal assembly as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,631, such assembly is subject to various disadvantages in that, for example, when the O.D. sealing lip is exposed to abrasion it is found to abrade rapidly and once gone, the assembly will have no O.D. seal whereby contaminants can freely enter into the thrust bearing and reduce its lifetime. Further, any water, for example, that gets past the O.D. sealing lip simply passes directly into the thrust bearing. This prior art bearing also requires a separate shoulder to form a locking mechanism to unitize the seal assembly.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved unitized thrust bearing and interlocking seal assembly that overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the prior art.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a unitized thrust bearing and interlocking seal assembly which has an outer metal case or seal element to protect the O.D. sealing lip on the inner metal case or seal element, which includes an O.D. seal, and a labyrinth seal which does not require a separate shoulder to form a locking mechanism, and which includes an I.D. seal bonded to each seal element.